This football season was riddled with injuries and devastation for the Silver Creek Raiders, coming out of preseason 3-0 the team showed great promise. Then the Independence versus Silver Creek game came along. Thirty plays into the game we faced our first injury, a play that was intended to be a pass was turned into a run when quarterback Alejandro Flores (‘19) tucked the ball and started to take it up the middle. It was on this play where our offensive tackle Alan Ibarra (‘18) went to go finish his block but didn’t realize that the play had gone from pass to run so he was not prepared and BOOM. One of the opposing team's players rolled off of Alejandro’s hip and crashed straight into Alan’s fibula, a career ending injury.
“This really is not how I pictured myself leaving the sport” says Alan Ibarra in an interview
“This really is not how I pictured myself leaving the sport” says Alan Ibarra in an interview
The next injury was to Trey Trim (‘19) who was playing linebacker at the time of his injury. Silver Creek was backed up into our end zone by the Independence Sixers late into the game, the Independence quarterback shot up the field and Trey went in for the kill shot, except, the quarterback sees Trey coming and made a cut. BANG. Our safety, Tyre Newsom (‘18), ran right into Trey's shoulder as he had no time to react. Trey left the field gripping his arm in tears hoping for the best but fearing the worst, luckily it was a small dislocation but it could’ve lead to something so much worse.
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“This really is not how I pictured myself leaving the sport.”
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Injuries we see on TV are horrific as we watch them from every angle imaginable, but in high school it kind of just happens. There's no news, it may not even be talked amongst our own peers. The fact of the matter is no one can really understand what it feels like to have an injury in the game unless you play a sport.
From experience, I didn't really understand why injuries were so scary to athletes until i began playing sports at the end of my junior year. I first started out with football in the spring and saw just how much stretching came into play as a non-contact injury is often one of the most devastating injuries. For example I was hit from behind and had no idea what was going on until i saw the medical technician’s flashlight shining in my face. At that moment I was horrified thinking I would miss even one day of my senior year of football.
The first real injury witnessed was a head to head collision last year, involving our captain from last year Jesse Barrientos (‘17), this was crushing to watch as he was suddenly on the floor unable to get up grabbing his head as if someone had just shot a gun next to his head and the ringing was unbearable. He did not play the rest of the game and developed a golf ball sized bump on the front of his forehead. It was later found out that he had received a concussion. He went from an offensive, defensive starter to someone who couldn't even keep vomit down due to the immense nausea after receiving a head to head hit. At that moment I knew what a football injury really meant.
From experience, I didn't really understand why injuries were so scary to athletes until i began playing sports at the end of my junior year. I first started out with football in the spring and saw just how much stretching came into play as a non-contact injury is often one of the most devastating injuries. For example I was hit from behind and had no idea what was going on until i saw the medical technician’s flashlight shining in my face. At that moment I was horrified thinking I would miss even one day of my senior year of football.
The first real injury witnessed was a head to head collision last year, involving our captain from last year Jesse Barrientos (‘17), this was crushing to watch as he was suddenly on the floor unable to get up grabbing his head as if someone had just shot a gun next to his head and the ringing was unbearable. He did not play the rest of the game and developed a golf ball sized bump on the front of his forehead. It was later found out that he had received a concussion. He went from an offensive, defensive starter to someone who couldn't even keep vomit down due to the immense nausea after receiving a head to head hit. At that moment I knew what a football injury really meant.